LSM's Sacrament - the "Ground of the Local Church" NIGEL TOMES

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by alwayslearning

I frankly don't think Watchman Nee was so bothered by the "divisions" in Christianity. He wanted to start indigenous churches in China and needed a model so he devised one and it so happened that the one he devised by nature had to illegitimize all other churches for it to work i.e. he had to classify them as divisions. Witness Lee took this further and classified all other churches as either the whore or daughters of the whore who were spiritually blind and stupid. By doing so his church became the elect of the elect, God's best, etc. All other Christians were 2nd class citizens or worse.

I cannot speak concerning WN since I do not know enough. However, concerning WL I think I have seen some critical actions. Although it is not for us to know what was in his heart, we can and should examine his life. Each of these actions has the appearance of evil and though not proof of evil, the preponderance of so many elements does make a very strong case.

1. He brought in damnable heresies, creating a sect.
2. His ways were pernicious.
3. He operated through covetousness
4. He fabricated stories, particularly about WN, but also about any who stood against him.
5. He made merchandise of the saints
6. His sons, who he placed in very high positions and defended at all costs, walked in the lust of uncleanness
7. He despised the laws of this government in running DayStar
8. His teachings in the Bible were full of presumption. His teachings begin with the presumption that certain things are true.
9. He was self willed and answered to no one but himself.
10. He spoke evil of other Christians and other Christian leaders
11. His sons had eyes full of adultery (again relevant since they were supported and protected by WL despite his being made fully aware of this fact).
12. His heart was exercised with covetous practices.
13. And, he followed the way of Balaam, becoming a prophet for hire once he monetized LSM, the trainings, etc.

Originally Posted by alwayslearning

This teaching was not a solution because there isn't a solution and IMHO to waste our valuable time looking for one will only prove futile. Often (not always) there are some very valid reasons that Christians decide to meet separately from each other otherwise we would all still be meeting in the Roman Catholic Church - the church with the most historical legitimacy.

I agree the ground of oneness includes the blood of Christ i.e. His work of redemption but it also includes His person and other work i.e. the "common faith". The ground is certainly not a piece of dirt in a physical city and to make it such devalues Christians and the Lord they love.

I believe that the divisions are a result of immature Christians and false teachers that take advantage of their immaturity. This in part is due to the mature Christians not being active enough in their role and leave a vacuum for the swindlers to take advantage of.

Yes, oneness includes more than the Blood, but everything is based on our being redeemed by the Lord. Also, I do agree with WN and WL that the OT type is significant, only I disagree with their interpretation. When Jesus died on the cross He did purchase some dirt with His sin offering, us. The ground of the church is not the ever changing boundaries of thousands of cities on this earth, but rather the ground of the church is the redeemed of the Lord who stand on His blood.

Jesus said He would build the church. The argument that you cannot build a building on land that doesn't belong to you is valid. Hence, the land that the church is built on is the land purchased by Jesus in His redeeming work.